1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a flossing device for the cleaning of teeth, and particularly to the manufacture of a multiplicity of such devices as a continuous chain of connected and completed loops, each individual loop of the chain being separable from the continuous chain, and to an apparatus for manufacturing such a continuous chain of dental floss loops that are selectively separable from one another.
2. Description of Prior Art
An individual dental floss loop of the type that is described herein as being fabricated as one of a continuous chain of such loops is illustrated, described and claimed in United States Application Ser. No. 956,249 and is illustrated in the attached drawings in its completed and separated form in FIG. 4 hereof. Because of the special configuration of the finished product, namely a completed loop of dental floss formed from two separate strands, associated ends of which are secured together by adhesive tabs, and the necessity of fabricating such a construction in an economical way, the development of special equipment was required to manufacture a continuous chain from a multiplicity of such loops of dental floss material, the chain being formed in such a way that individual loops may be severed or separated from the chain by the user at the time of use, while the chain is fabricated in such a way that it may be adequately packaged for sale to the ultimate consumer in packages containing specific numbers of interconnected yet separable loops, or a specific length of a continuous chain of separable loops. To my knowledge, no existing machinery is available to produce a continuous chain formed from loops of dental floss material.
Because of the relatively low price of a container of dental floss to the ultimate consumer, and because of the enormous volume of dental floss used by the consuming public, it is essential that the apparatus for forming the dental floss loop chain be capable of forming the loop chain in a continuous process, at a high rate of speed, in a form that is aesthetically pleasing and hygienically acceptable to the consuming public. Accordingly, the method of forming the loops and forming a chain of separable loops must lend itself to high speed mechanized production.
Therefore, one of the primary objects of this invention is the provision of an elongated chain or series of interconnected loops arranged in a manner to permit the severability or separation of successive loops from the remaining chain of such loops.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a machine which will join two adjacent strands of dental floss at their ends in such a manner that a closed loop is formed having sufficient strength for the intended use of flossing the teeth.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of a method of joining two adjacent strands of dental floss material in such a manner that interconnected loops are formed from the two adjacent strands, with each loop being separable from adjacent loops while maintaining its integrity as a loop.
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus for manufacturing an elongated chain from a series of interconnected dental floss loops in a continuous manner while periodically cutting from the continuous chain a predetermined length formed from a predetermined number of interconnected loops.
The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be apparent from the following description and the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated and described, since the invention may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.